Vodka maker opens the books

By PAUL PANCKHURST

Shareholders of gin and vodka maker 42 Below - the company whose share price last month plunged on listing - yesterday got a look inside the books.

They saw little steps towards big goals.

Valued as a $50 million business by the share float, the company reported sales of $1 million for the six months to September 30.

That was up on the $504,000 for the 11 months to March 31.

The company's loss before one-offs of $445,000 was lifted to a bottomline profit of $711,000 through the founder shareholders forgiving a $1.16 million advance, as flagged in the prospectus for the share issue.

The company's first-quarter sales of $450,000 and second-quarter sales of $640,000 were in line with the prospectus.

That document, dated September 12, said the company had hit per quarter sales of $614,650.

Director Grant Braker was cautious yesterday on the outlook.

He said "early indications at the start of quarter three were that this level of growth would continue in the near term".

To stay on track with revenue projections in the prospectus, 42 Below needs to hit $2.2 million per quarter by August 31 next year.

The prospectus did not contain profit forecasts.

Critics say the company was over-valued and came to market too soon.

The organising broker, Direct Broking, said investors got a rare chance to buy into the early stage of a growth story.

The company started trading in May last year. It aims to be a global premium brand.

Its shares closed steady at 37c yesterday, well below the 50c initial offer price.